Babyteeth #1 is one concept that has been done in media but not quite like this. A baby being born on this Earth is usually a good thing right? Well, as you see in Babyteeth, this one is more of a bad omen. Trying to be vague on this is difficult but trust me, Babyteeth is a wild ride. For sure this is one that’s tough to not spoil but I’m going to try not to. It’s a comic that has a quiet beginning but by the time it ends, life isn’t going to be calm for long. Hang in there for this one as we’re all going to be on this journey together. I’m ready to start up the after party and dark celebrations to come in Babyteeth #1. Keep your hats on your heads and all that good stuff because this one is going to be bonkers.
In all honesty, Babyteeth has a strange sort of calm to it. At least until the end where you see that this calm is leading to a powerful storm.
Yeah it is weird as you read Babyteeth how oddly calm it can be. Donny Cates and Garry Brown have created a unique beast of a comic. It all starts with the epitome of calm Sadie as she’s telling her son the story of how he was born. You can see from Mark Englert’s colors that despite the smile that Garry Brown puts on her face, something has gone down. Between the odd kind of optimism that Cates puts into Sadie’s voice, the atmosphere that Brown and Englert create show a different story. I love that the only illumination we have initially is from Sadie’s phone and the tiniest bit of moonlight. I say this, this intro creates the right tone for what is to come here. Does it ever create a tone for what’s to come.
Sadie as a character, I like her. She’s optimistic, kind, and as I said before, she’s calm and she’s perfect for this piece. You get to see her life before whatever it is is happening as she’s recording this story. At the point we see her she’s hidden her pregnancy and these people are trying to give her a hard time. Which leads us to her sister Heather, who is amazing, and which leads into the whole sequence of her baby being born. Now this is where the ominous tone begins. Every time Sadie has a contraction an earthquake begins. The earthquakes are a testament to Taylor Esposito’s lettering amongst other factors in the comic. The rumbles from the quake get more intense and the lettering for them reflects that. It’s in all the little touches at times my friends.
Babyteeth is thoughtful and optimistic in between the hints of dark times to come as we near the end of the issue.
It also is going at a slow pace, which is great. You get the idea as to what this birth is going to give us as the baby is about to arrive. It’s a wild looking scene with a sparse looking segment with Sadie alone with a sort of thoughtful and oddly sorrowful look to her face and body language. Props to Garry Brown for conveying this scene and what Cates was aiming for, it works beautifully and Mark Englert’s deep reds was perfect. The design of the layout too with the signs of life was brilliant. Then it all leads to the name of the baby, which is a nice touch. It all builds to a level of optimism until the end of the issue. That’s when you realize, all is not well and I cannot imagine what will lead us to this point.
I like what Donny Cates is building towards so far. Sadie is a great lead and I am curious about her and her family in the months to come. Another factor will be how her baby plays into this because you know something is about to go down. It makes this first issue one that will make many readers ponder about in the months to come. We know something is going to happen, we just don’t know what. I can see this being a series many people including myself get addicted to. A well paced comic that creates many exciting possibilities which makes for a strong first issue.
It’s a quiet beginning with a few shocks to the system that create much suspense for the future of Babyteeth’s universe. One wicked and powerful ride awaits us.
It will be interesting to see what other readers think of this book as it goes on. As this first issue gives us many tantalizing hints of events to come. Babyteeth‘s first issue will be one to look back on but until then, I am excited to see how crazy this series will get. Excellent start for a series that seems primed to be one to shock and amaze readers as it goes on. Get on the ground floor for this one, you won’t regret it.
